Lying in the Atlantic Ocean off Galway Bay, the starkly beautiful Aran Islands – Inisheer, Inishmaan, and Inishmore — are a place apart. Here, the insularity of island life has preserved many aspects of Irish culture – its language, customs and traditions. The book features both black and white and color photos, and includes places to see, the physical landscape, maps, placenames, and stories and poems.

These islands bear witness to events from earliest times, including Celtic occupation, the arrival of Christianity, invasions, sieges, famine and evictions. This history is evident in the massive Iron Age forts, the Early Christian ruins, and in the literature, songs and images from these “three stepping stones out of Europe.”